Closure of ACT nomination program to overseas applicants for 2015/16 - subclass 190 visa

The following has recently been announced by Migration and Information Services section of the ACT Government.

“Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa – Closure of ACT nomination program to overseas applicants for 2015/16

Effective immediately (18 March 2016 at 4pm AEST) - The ACT Migration program is closed to all overseas residents. If your client is not in Australia, you will not be able to apply for ACT nomination of a Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa until the program reopens on 1 July 2016.

Applications for ACT nomination submitted before 4pm today will still be processed in queue order.

Please note, the current processing time is 3 - 4 months due to the large number of applications received post publication of the February 23 Occupation List.

CANBERRA RESIDENTS

This action does not affect Canberra based applicants. If your client is living in Canberra the 190 ACT nomination program is still open if they meet the nomination criteria. The average processing time of applications from Canberra residents is 4 weeks.”

Comments by Chris Johnston – Principal Lawyer and Registered Migration Agent at Work Visa Lawyers

This closure of the list announced by the ACT government is probably just the first of a number of similar actions by States and Territories.   The migration program year runs from the 1 July to the 30 June each year.

The states have a limited numbers of positions to nominate and they also try to set their own internal target in relation to different occupations.  As the end of the migration program year approached, and we get closer to the 30 June 2016, the state and territories may run out of positions to nominate.

The positive side of the cycle, is that the states will have new quotas of position to nominated from the 1 July 2016. So it is often still worth while for you to get your skills assessed and to achieve the required English scores, with a view to the new lists.

Source:

 http://www.canberrayourfuture.com.au/portal/migrating/article/skilled-migration-visas/

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